In a huge boost to the campaign of Democrat Dannel Malloy, all six affiliates of the Service Employees International Union have endorsed his candidacy for governor.
The SEIU Connecticut State Council, which has 55,000 members, voted Friday to support the ticket of Malloy and lieutenant governor candidate Nancy Wyman in the August primary against Greenwich cable TV executive Ned Lamont and Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman. The official announcement will be made later today.
Union endorsements are important in Democratic primaries, and the two sides have been battling for support from various unions. Unions spread the word among their members through literature both in the workplace and mailed to union households in the crucial get-out-the-vote drives in the final weeks. The unions also operate phone banks to make sure their members get to the polls.
Previously, four of the six major unions had announced their support, but the leadership of SEIU wanted to make it six for six.
The previous endorsements were by District 1199, which is known as one of the state's most politically active unions, and Connecticut District/SEIU Local 32BJ, which represents custodians and security guards. Last week, both CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 and CEUI/SEIU Local 511 stepped forward in favor of Malloy.
The coalition says that the endorsements were made partly because of Malloy's record during 14 years as mayor of Stamford - from 1995 through 2009.